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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23972362">Innocent Touch</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/melas_chole/pseuds/ricochet'>ricochet (melas_chole)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alien Biology, Alien Cultural Differences, M/M, Misunderstandings, Oblivious Shiro (Voltron), POV Keith (Voltron), not so much cultural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 17:55:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,495</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23972362</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/melas_chole/pseuds/ricochet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Keith witnesses something during a training session that throws him for a loop.<br/>And leaves him with many question concerning Ulaz and Shiro and himself.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith &amp; Shiro (Voltron), Shiro/Ulaz (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Innocent Touch</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Stumbling through and rereading Shiro/Ulaz content after not having been here for ages, this is my little contribution for this wonderful canoe — there isn't nearly enough of it.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Yes, Ulaz was definitely acting stiffly. Keith eyed him over his fork. And he was more uptight than he usually was. Keith had observed him throughout dinner and he was sure of it. Nobody else seemed to notice, as the glances Keith spared them told him.<br/>Maybe he wouldn’t have noticed either if it hadn’t been for the incident during their training session earlier that day.<br/>Nobody had so much as batted an eye then either. And it was driving Keith crazy.</p><p>They had done some sparring and then went on to train self-defense: getting out of certain situations even against a superior opponent — they were comparable small creatures compared to the Galra and many other aliens —, that kind of stuff.<br/>Ulaz had helped with the training, as he regularly did now. <br/>It was helpful: He thought them different things and techniques than Shiro did, if he let him, and it gave Shiro a partner, who was on a more equal footing with him, to actually demonstrate things with.</p><p>Even if Keith wanted to be that, he had to admit that he wasn’t. <br/>Not yet. <br/>And Keith wasn’t as block-headed as some made him out to be, if he didn’t let his temper cloud his senses: He understood that it was less about ability than about…robustness. Shiro always held back when he trained with them. Even with Keith. <br/>It had grated at Keith until he had had a heart-to-heart with Shiro about it and Shiro had explained to him that he didn’t think that Keith couldn’t hold his own, that he rationally knew that he could — he had seen it, many times — but that it was him being just too afraid to accidentally hurt any of them, that he physically couldn’t bring himself to go all out on them, that he would never be able to forgive himself. And the look in Shiro’s eyes when he had told him, had made Keith feel a pang of commiseration throughout his body and he had nodded. <br/>He had to accept this. That was was all he could, to not push Shiro about it. That and train even harder and get better so that maybe one day Shiro would see that could take him on.</p><p>But with Ulaz Shiro didn’t seem to have any of these qualms. With him Shiro went all out. <br/>Or that was what they had thought until Ulaz had informed them one day, when they talked about it and Shiro wasn’t present, that they were wrong to think this, that he had seen Shiro fight in the arena many times and that he could assure them that he was holding back with him as well. As did he. This was training after all. Not an actual fight.<br/>Still, watching the two of them fight was something else. <br/>And Keith was sure that the others goading them on to demonstrate something wasn’t only inspired by them trying to get out of applying themselves. <br/><br/>Whenever they demonstrated something or humored them with a spar Keith observed both of them closely and he was sure, no, he knew that he had already learned a lot through this. <br/>So he couldn’t really be mad about any of it. <br/>Also, watching Shiro fight like this was…really great to witness. <br/>And what was more, there were those times — sparring and grappling with Ulaz — when Shiro looked like he actually had fun. And that alone made it worth it in Keith’s eyes.<br/>He knew the others felt similarly about it and to see Shiro like this was contagious to all of them.</p><p>Today had been like that. <br/>It was instructive and engaging and fun. All of them were sweating and panting and smiling and Keith was happy to see that even after they had been training hard for over two hours, his fellow paladins still seemed attentive and focussed.<br/>They were nearing the end of their training session and Shiro went on to demonstrate yet another situation, they might find themselves in, and possible ways to get out of it with the help of Ulaz, like they had for the past few exercises, and that was when it happened. </p><p>Shiro tackled Ulaz from behind, who fended Shiro off by slamming him backwards onto the mat. With Ulaz now on top of him, Shiro wrapped his arms around the other’s waist and, explaining his intended move to the others, his hands came to rest casually on Ulaz’ lower abdomen: Keith felt himself tauten at the sight. <br/>As did Ulaz.<br/>Shiro seemed unconcerned. <br/><em>What the fuck?!!</em><br/>And as if that wasn’t enough, Shiro’s palms absentmindedly smoothed over the area while he spoke. <br/>Ulaz froze. <br/>Keith couldn’t see his face but the rapid raise and fall of his chest betrayed a distinct change in his breathing and his ears were flicking in a very private panic.<br/>Keith felt hot and…yes, bothered. Very hot and very bothered. But not in any good way.<br/><em>What on earth and any other planet was happening?!!</em><br/>He heard Lance asked Shiro something about the technique as if it was the most normal situation and Keith’s gaze shot around to the others. They were listening and nodding, completely unperturbed by what was going on <em>right in front of them!!</em><br/>Keith felt like he was in some sort of bizarre nightmare. But he wasn’t. This wasn’t something that the most warped parts of his mind had conjured up purely to torture him. This was real and happening right before his eyes! <br/>Nobody else seemed unnerved by it. <br/>Nobody else but Ulaz. <br/><br/>To Keith he looked tense and flustered beyond anything, Keith had ever seen. Not that he could blame him.<br/>And then with one tightened grip and yank Shiro threw Ulaz off of him. With a sound, suppressed deep in his throat, he landed on the mat. <br/>Keith had completely missed whatever it was that Shiro had taught them about the specific technique. He was watching Ulaz panting and collecting himself on all fours.<br/>The Galra looked up and for a moment and he fixed Shiro with wild and questioning eyes. And there was something else in his gaze that Keith couldn’t quite name. Just a tick before it was gone again. <br/>Shiro was already up and turning to him but before he could offer him a hand, Ulaz was back up on his feet and pulled himself together, his own huge hand hovering, not touching, protectively over his groin.<br/>Nobody saw <em>any</em> of this.<br/><br/>“Thank you, Ulaz!” Shiro smiled at him and receive a curt nod in response.<br/><br/>“If that is all. May I be excused?” Ulaz asked and Shiro gave him an odd look. <br/>Not that that wasn’t how Ulaz normally talked. To Allura or Coran or to anybody else, maybe even to them but not to Shiro. He talked differently with Shiro. Normally. And that, maybe, was another realization.<br/>But Shiro unknit his brow, nodding, and dismissed him.<br/>Ulaz gave him another curt nod and, making straight for the door, walked out of the training deck stiffly.</p><p>The rest of it was a blur. <br/>The whole thing had probably only been a matter of a few seconds, minutes tops, but Keith wasn’t able to shake it off.<br/>He stood, rooted to the floor, and when he realized that, naturally — as if anything about this was natural —, Shiro instructed them to try out the technique themselves, all Keith thought was “Hell no!”<br/>He was all in for all sorts of grueling training methods but there was no way, he was going to touch or be touched like that by any of them. <br/>He made up some excuse about suddenly not feeling very well and bolted.</p><p>Outside, he realized, he was shaky. And very hot underneath his armor. And to his dismay he felt that blood was rushing to already very taut parts of his body, it really had no business being. <em>His body had to be fucking kidding him?!</em> <br/>He wasn’t supposed to be aroused by this but disturbed. And he was! <br/>But the images of Shiro’s hands touching Ulaz’ lower abdomen, he couldn’t get out of his head, were making this— <em>fuck!</em><br/>Usually, he would go to the training deck to spar with the gladiator to get his head on straight…or his body to calm down but that happened to be the place he was actively fleeing from. So the only other reasonable option, Keith could think of, was…running. And so he did. <br/>He ran for the better part of an hour until his muscles thoroughly ached and all his mind could think of was a shower, water, a lot of water and food.</p><p>After that he felt calmer. Still, he was happy that his plans for the day didn’t involve seeing much of the others until dinner. It gave him time to think. And think he did.<br/><br/>Looking at it from a distance, the whole episode raised questions.<br/>A lot of questions.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I can’t believe that with the massive amount of Voltron WIPs on my hard drive, this is the first thing I actually post for this fandom…</p></blockquote></div></div>
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